Pelopidas thrax (Hübner, [1821]) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae): new to Albania, records and distribution update. With first recorded sightings in Montenegro and Croatia.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the study and distributioin of butterflies, leading to the development of new distribution maps of butterflies in Albania.The most recent studies confirm the presence of 207 butterfly species, however, field observations and documentation from 2024 have resulted in the recording of a new species, Pelopidas thrax (Hübner, [1821]), increasing the total to 208 confirmed species.At the westernmost limit of its range in Europe, P. thrax has gradually expanded its range northward and further west, reaching continental Greece, the Ionian islands, and, most recently souther Albania with the first confirmed observation in Butrint National Park on May 25, 2024, and followed by further records during the autumn of 2024 and new sightings in the spring of 2025. These repeat observations, particularly across two consecutive in the same area, strongly suggest successful overwintering and local reproduction. This evidence indicates that P. thrax is no longer a sporadic visitor, but has established, several, likely isolated, breeding populatioins in Albania, becoming a naturalised component of the country's butterfly fauna.Further supporting this rapid expansion is a confirmed sighting of P. thrax in Montenegro in September 2024, which represent the northernmost known locality for the species in Europe. This observation highlights the species' potential for continued northward spread along the Adriatic coastline. In 2025, the northward expansion was further supported by new observations in Montenegro and the first confirmed records from Croatia.